Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Saint Martin's Press (1971), Paperback, 301 pages
Description
For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate its secrets met with disaster, the participants destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity. Now a new investigation brings four strangers to the forbidding mansion who are determined to probe Belasco House for the ultimate secrets of life and death. Each has his or her own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?
Media reviews
bursa lowongan kerja
I haven't got a clue how to rate this book. There are too many things I found either funny or plain bad. I even waited for a day or so to think about it. On the one hand, I like haunted house theme (half a star for the theme). On the other, there are tons of things which I really didn't like.
Second, I didn't like the characters or how they were presented. Barret, the self appointed unofficial leader of the group of people who were hired to spend a few days in that house, is the worst with his constant patronizing chuckle and calmness.
Simply put: I didn't like this story. The ending is hilarious. I think this story might probably be better as a film. I really thought I'd like this book more.
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First, it isn't scary. At all. Sure, there are a few moments that should have been scary, but for me they were plain flat - as if I was watching from above. Second, I didn't like the characters or how they were presented. Barret, the self appointed unofficial leader of the group of people who were hired to spend a few days in that house, is the worst with his constant patronizing chuckle and calmness.
Simply put: I didn't like this story. The ending is hilarious. I think this story might probably be better as a film. I really thought I'd like this book more.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member absurdeist
The ending of Hell House totally surprised me. I wondered just how much Richard Matheson may have waffled with that black-and-white, cut-and-dried, definitive ending. Because ghost stories generally don't end that well. Though, granted, two of the four people who entered Belasco House lost their
Hell House is a first rate horror novel no matter how it ended. It gave me the chills -- gave me goosebumps -- in a piping hot bathtub the night I finished it. I enjoyed how Hell House pitted science versus faith (albeit faith in the paranormal/occult, rather than religion); empiricism versus mysticism; and how both science, as evinced in Dr. Barrett's, the physicist's, life's work, the "Reversor," a clunky contraption of dials and knobs like some backup metaphysical generator, which produced negative electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to counter and attempt to eliminate the negative residual energy that inhabited the house, or "positive EMR" of the house, that was hypothesized to still bouncing its chaotic energy throughout the mansion's interior randomly, and this positive EMR was the real culprit for the "haunting" instead of silly ghosts -- and passionate proponents of the paranormal: the mediums, Florence and Fischer, were all instrumental in combatting the mansion's predilection for murder. Reading Hell House has made me want to read more haunted house / ghost stories, in order to see how they've evolved in literature over the centuries. I suspect few have relied as much on science as Hell House.
I suspect also that some alleged "haunted houses" in literature are a trifle more haunted than others, after reading Hell House. Aforementioned Belasco House, or the "Hell House" of the novel's title, as it was commonly called in the lexicon of the mediums and other paranormal experts who enter it, is considered the "Mt. Everest of haunted mansions". However, comparing Hell House to Mt. Everest doesn't do Hell House enough justice, I fear. For consider that of all the mountaineers who've ever attempted to climb Mt. Everest in the history of mountain climbing, that only about ten percent who've done so have died during their attempts; whereas, conversely, only ten percent of the people who've ever entered Hell House and spent the night there have left the house alive. Exceedingly more deadly, based on the statistical rates of failure reported by Matheson, spending the night in Hell House than attempting to climb Mt. Everest. I doubt even El Chapo could escape from Hell House alive.
Hell House, in fact, if you'll pardon the momentary (I promise) longeur, is so adept at sending anyone who'd spent a night there straight to an early, grisly grave, it's practically as effective an executioner as capital punishment is here in The States. A pity that capital punishers could never be allowed to sentence its vilest criminal offenders -- its child predators and serial killers -- to Hell House (assuming, of course, Hell House were real) to pay the ultimate, and scariest, price for their mortal sins. But no doubt such an unorthodox Hell House Death Sentence would constitute cruel and unusual punishment and be struck down in state legislatures as an inappropriate means of execution by a majority vote of its candlelight-vigil-constituents. Besides, it frankly takes too long to die in Hell House, anyway, up to four days and nights in some instances, as was the case for the tortured medium, Florence, to get the green light as a means of execution. Yes, poor pitiful Florence. So weak she was. So easily exploited by forces superior to her own psychic gifts, tortured one night with ghastly necrophilia, and I'm not describing merely regular 'ol necrophilia at that -- the kind initiated by the living upon the dead -- oh no, but the arguably ickier kind you may not know about unless you've previously read Hell House, consummated by the dead upon the living. Consider, too, that even when a state sanctioned execution goes awry in one of the United State's own houses of horrors, otherwise known as its "Correctional Facilities", as was recently the case in the July 23rd, 2015, botched lethal injection of Joseph R. Wood in Arizona, his execution still lasted for only one hour and forty minutes. Which doesn't hold a candle next to Hell House's modus operandi. Because dying s - l - o - w - l - y is a Hell House specialty.
While Biblical passages loom large a couple times in Hell House, particularly Matthew 5:29 (though I think John 8:32 could've rung just as true in Matheson's narrative contexts and concept regarding the origins of evil), there's nary a hint of Catholic subtext in Hell House, thank God; that is, unfortunately, until we enter its chapel and find a perverted (though not inverted) version of Christ's crucifixion; the blasphemous imagery obviously borrowed from Anton LaVey's own borrowed depictions of the Black Mass at his satanic church services, then en vogue at the time of Hell House's 1971 publication. The chapel gets more intriguing when its secret gothic chamber -- and the pathetic power for so long concealed there -- is revealed in a denouement that's more akin to Julien Gracq's stylized "The Chapel of the Abyss" chapter in Chateau d'Argol than any of the lurid and absurd shock-schlock of that carnival clown, Anton Lavey. For the genesis of evil, as Richard Matheson envisioned it, and as he empowered it in Hell House, while allowing room for the supernatural, or the paranormal, if I may risk giving away too much, was at least as much if not more the result of the malignant manifestation of a human ego gone Bad, capital "B", a la Hitler; a human ego gotten too big for its diminutive bully's britches, than it was the result of multiple ghosts going berserk inside a remote mansion whose unwary visitors swiftly developed an unsavory lust for suicide in its nearby acrid tarn outside.
If your experience of Hell House mirrors mine, meaning you have an (un)healthy appetite for being disturbed and scared, be careful you don't get the Hell scared into you reading Hell House, seared as it will remain upon your twisted and sick imagination, stuck there forever like some psychic tattoo.
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lives, but rarely have I ever read a "ghostly" novel that ended so unequivocally. In wondering if Matheson maybe was intentionally going against the grain of the ghost story genre, leaving it purposely free of ambiguity, free of any doubt, I found an interview in which Matheson indeed confessed how unsatisfied he was by two of the endings in classics of the genre -- Henry james' The Turn of the Screw and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House -- and predetermined that Hell House's ending would be clear cut, devoid of equivocation. Even with his ending finished before he began writing his book, I believe he pulled the ending off without it feeling contrived, but rather following its own unforgettable, frightening course to its utterly surprising climax that served also a s kind of Matheson manifesto on the true origins of evil.Hell House is a first rate horror novel no matter how it ended. It gave me the chills -- gave me goosebumps -- in a piping hot bathtub the night I finished it. I enjoyed how Hell House pitted science versus faith (albeit faith in the paranormal/occult, rather than religion); empiricism versus mysticism; and how both science, as evinced in Dr. Barrett's, the physicist's, life's work, the "Reversor," a clunky contraption of dials and knobs like some backup metaphysical generator, which produced negative electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to counter and attempt to eliminate the negative residual energy that inhabited the house, or "positive EMR" of the house, that was hypothesized to still bouncing its chaotic energy throughout the mansion's interior randomly, and this positive EMR was the real culprit for the "haunting" instead of silly ghosts -- and passionate proponents of the paranormal: the mediums, Florence and Fischer, were all instrumental in combatting the mansion's predilection for murder. Reading Hell House has made me want to read more haunted house / ghost stories, in order to see how they've evolved in literature over the centuries. I suspect few have relied as much on science as Hell House.
I suspect also that some alleged "haunted houses" in literature are a trifle more haunted than others, after reading Hell House. Aforementioned Belasco House, or the "Hell House" of the novel's title, as it was commonly called in the lexicon of the mediums and other paranormal experts who enter it, is considered the "Mt. Everest of haunted mansions". However, comparing Hell House to Mt. Everest doesn't do Hell House enough justice, I fear. For consider that of all the mountaineers who've ever attempted to climb Mt. Everest in the history of mountain climbing, that only about ten percent who've done so have died during their attempts; whereas, conversely, only ten percent of the people who've ever entered Hell House and spent the night there have left the house alive. Exceedingly more deadly, based on the statistical rates of failure reported by Matheson, spending the night in Hell House than attempting to climb Mt. Everest. I doubt even El Chapo could escape from Hell House alive.
Hell House, in fact, if you'll pardon the momentary (I promise) longeur, is so adept at sending anyone who'd spent a night there straight to an early, grisly grave, it's practically as effective an executioner as capital punishment is here in The States. A pity that capital punishers could never be allowed to sentence its vilest criminal offenders -- its child predators and serial killers -- to Hell House (assuming, of course, Hell House were real) to pay the ultimate, and scariest, price for their mortal sins. But no doubt such an unorthodox Hell House Death Sentence would constitute cruel and unusual punishment and be struck down in state legislatures as an inappropriate means of execution by a majority vote of its candlelight-vigil-constituents. Besides, it frankly takes too long to die in Hell House, anyway, up to four days and nights in some instances, as was the case for the tortured medium, Florence, to get the green light as a means of execution. Yes, poor pitiful Florence. So weak she was. So easily exploited by forces superior to her own psychic gifts, tortured one night with ghastly necrophilia, and I'm not describing merely regular 'ol necrophilia at that -- the kind initiated by the living upon the dead -- oh no, but the arguably ickier kind you may not know about unless you've previously read Hell House, consummated by the dead upon the living. Consider, too, that even when a state sanctioned execution goes awry in one of the United State's own houses of horrors, otherwise known as its "Correctional Facilities", as was recently the case in the July 23rd, 2015, botched lethal injection of Joseph R. Wood in Arizona, his execution still lasted for only one hour and forty minutes. Which doesn't hold a candle next to Hell House's modus operandi. Because dying s - l - o - w - l - y is a Hell House specialty.
While Biblical passages loom large a couple times in Hell House, particularly Matthew 5:29 (though I think John 8:32 could've rung just as true in Matheson's narrative contexts and concept regarding the origins of evil), there's nary a hint of Catholic subtext in Hell House, thank God; that is, unfortunately, until we enter its chapel and find a perverted (though not inverted) version of Christ's crucifixion; the blasphemous imagery obviously borrowed from Anton LaVey's own borrowed depictions of the Black Mass at his satanic church services, then en vogue at the time of Hell House's 1971 publication. The chapel gets more intriguing when its secret gothic chamber -- and the pathetic power for so long concealed there -- is revealed in a denouement that's more akin to Julien Gracq's stylized "The Chapel of the Abyss" chapter in Chateau d'Argol than any of the lurid and absurd shock-schlock of that carnival clown, Anton Lavey. For the genesis of evil, as Richard Matheson envisioned it, and as he empowered it in Hell House, while allowing room for the supernatural, or the paranormal, if I may risk giving away too much, was at least as much if not more the result of the malignant manifestation of a human ego gone Bad, capital "B", a la Hitler; a human ego gotten too big for its diminutive bully's britches, than it was the result of multiple ghosts going berserk inside a remote mansion whose unwary visitors swiftly developed an unsavory lust for suicide in its nearby acrid tarn outside.
If your experience of Hell House mirrors mine, meaning you have an (un)healthy appetite for being disturbed and scared, be careful you don't get the Hell scared into you reading Hell House, seared as it will remain upon your twisted and sick imagination, stuck there forever like some psychic tattoo.
Show Less
LibraryThing member silenceiseverything
I'm just going to say it: I found Hell House to be a bit of a poor man's The Haunting of Hill House. I just can't help it. Hell House seems to borrow a lot from that particular book only doesn't utilize it half as well. Of course, it probably doesn't help that I absolutely love and adore The
The first 100 pages or so of Hell House were pretty amazing. They were creepy, intriguing, and more than a little bizarre (I love bizarre). But Matheson pretty much lost me at teleplasm. I'm sorry, but oozing material coming out of a person's hands isn't really that scary to me. I'm sure I'd feel differently if the ooze was protruding from my hands, but as it wasn't, I just couldn't help but be underwhelmed by that particular plot point. Since Hell House used this a lot in its scares, it stopped being particularly scary at that point.
Another thing I was underwhelmed by was the secret of Hell House. It's supposed to be this tremendous thing that is built up so much that by the time it actually came I was like "That's it? THAT'S the secret of Hell House?" That was a bit of a letdown. After all that build-up, I was expecting something BAM-worthy. That wasn't really it.
Hell House wasn't all underwhelming, though. The actual scary: Belasco. That man was just all types of bizarre, weird, and terribly sick. But man, was he fascinating! I loved learning about him even though I was repulsed at everything he did. Also, those times where the blanket covered someone who wasn't there before? Pretty terrifying. That's stuff directly from my nightmares, so I liked it.
So, all in all, I thought Hell House was an okay haunted house story. It was mildly creepy, pretty violent and sexualized, and plenty gross. The makings of horror, no doubt. However, a classic it is not (or at least in my humble opinion). It probably doesn't help that I read a SUPERB haunted house story a few days before reading this one (Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe) and I have previously read The Haunting of Hill House which were superior to Hell House. But still, Hell House was a good Halloween read. Just not really my fave.
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Haunting of Hill House and it's one of my favorite novels ever (and definitely my favorite horror novel ever). The first 100 pages or so of Hell House were pretty amazing. They were creepy, intriguing, and more than a little bizarre (I love bizarre). But Matheson pretty much lost me at teleplasm. I'm sorry, but oozing material coming out of a person's hands isn't really that scary to me. I'm sure I'd feel differently if the ooze was protruding from my hands, but as it wasn't, I just couldn't help but be underwhelmed by that particular plot point. Since Hell House used this a lot in its scares, it stopped being particularly scary at that point.
Another thing I was underwhelmed by was the secret of Hell House. It's supposed to be this tremendous thing that is built up so much that by the time it actually came I was like "That's it? THAT'S the secret of Hell House?" That was a bit of a letdown. After all that build-up, I was expecting something BAM-worthy. That wasn't really it.
Hell House wasn't all underwhelming, though. The actual scary: Belasco. That man was just all types of bizarre, weird, and terribly sick. But man, was he fascinating! I loved learning about him even though I was repulsed at everything he did. Also, those times where the blanket covered someone who wasn't there before? Pretty terrifying. That's stuff directly from my nightmares, so I liked it.
So, all in all, I thought Hell House was an okay haunted house story. It was mildly creepy, pretty violent and sexualized, and plenty gross. The makings of horror, no doubt. However, a classic it is not (or at least in my humble opinion). It probably doesn't help that I read a SUPERB haunted house story a few days before reading this one (Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe) and I have previously read The Haunting of Hill House which were superior to Hell House. But still, Hell House was a good Halloween read. Just not really my fave.
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LibraryThing member EmpressReece
House of Depravity- 4.5 stars...
So much has already been said about this book so I'm not going to beat it to death but I thought it was a fantastic haunted house story. I can definitely understand why it garnered so much attention. I even really liked the ending which isn't always the case for me
So much has already been said about this book so I'm not going to beat it to death but I thought it was a fantastic haunted house story. I can definitely understand why it garnered so much attention. I even really liked the ending which isn't always the case for me
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in this genre. It was thoroughly satisfying and it wasn't left open for you to draw your own conclusions like some of the paranormal horror stories that I've come across. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because, yes it nailed the gruesome and the shocking but, I thought it lacked the foreboding and build up of suspense to give it the scare factor that I was hoping for and would have been the perfect accompaniment to Belasco's Hell House. Show Less
LibraryThing member MHanover10
I think if I had read this at night and in one sitting it would have scared the crap out of me. Also if I was in my teens. But now that I'm older and have met lots of psychics and read a lot about the spirit world and spirit guides, this didn't scare me as much as it could have. It was very well
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written and I think the movie version would be scary. Make sure to set the stage when you go to read this and you will definitely have nightmares after reading this. Show Less
LibraryThing member coloradogirl14
The first descriptive phrase I thought of while reading this book was "Hill House on steroids," and I have yet to come up with a better explanation. If you enjoyed Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House but want a story with a little more danger and violence to it, Hell House would probably
The plot is common to many haunted house stories: small group of intrepid researchers spend time inside a huge, abandoned mansion trying to document the paranormal phenomena inside the house. The house becomes a character in and of itself, many of the people inside worry that the house is deliberately playing with their sanity, and there is a lot of discussion about ghosts, spirits, science, reality, etc. It's a common theme, but it's common because when done properly, it works extremely well.
For me, I love how the house becomes a physical manifestation of evil and takes on a malignant personality all its own. There's something incredibly terrifying about how the common and the familiar can suddenly turn on us and become evil, and I think that's how this horror trope has become so popular.
But like I mentioned before, Hell House has a level of sex and violence that is definitively NOT found in The Haunting of Hill House, which made this story feel fresh. Hell House's history is also a history of the most savage and repugnant acts humans have inflicted upon each other: torture, violent orgies, death, cannibalism, and more. And even though Matheson (wisely, in my opinion) refrains from truly graphic descriptions, there's enough savagery to turn the average reader's stomach.
For horror aficionados and haunted house junkies, this is a must-read. Probably a little too graphic to suggest to most readers, but if the person in question is willing to try a little depravity, this would be a great suggestion.
Readalikes:
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson. This book rightly stands as one of the greatest haunted house stories of all time. The psychological terror is immensely effective, and Hill House could probably be considered one of the great evils in horror literature.
The Unseen - Alexandra Sokoloff. Although this novel has more in common with The Haunting of Hill House in terms of pacing and tone, it shares most of the same tropes with Hell House, minus the graphic content.
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill. A classic ghost/haunted house story that uses many of the same tried-and-true haunted house elements. Again, this novel is not quite as dark or graphic as Hell House, but it definitely has a similar tone.
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski. A much more experimental haunted house novel that plays upon the idea of the mysteriously evil house. There are actually two stories being told here: the story of the original investigation, and the story of the young man who comes across the original documents and includes his own observations via footnotes.
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer - Joyce Reardon. A novel that blends the best of both worlds: a satisfying, chilling haunted house story that is told both through found documents (in this case, a historical journal), and the main character's annotations and footnotes. This book inspired the Stephen King miniseries, Rose Red.
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make for an excellent suggestion.The plot is common to many haunted house stories: small group of intrepid researchers spend time inside a huge, abandoned mansion trying to document the paranormal phenomena inside the house. The house becomes a character in and of itself, many of the people inside worry that the house is deliberately playing with their sanity, and there is a lot of discussion about ghosts, spirits, science, reality, etc. It's a common theme, but it's common because when done properly, it works extremely well.
For me, I love how the house becomes a physical manifestation of evil and takes on a malignant personality all its own. There's something incredibly terrifying about how the common and the familiar can suddenly turn on us and become evil, and I think that's how this horror trope has become so popular.
But like I mentioned before, Hell House has a level of sex and violence that is definitively NOT found in The Haunting of Hill House, which made this story feel fresh. Hell House's history is also a history of the most savage and repugnant acts humans have inflicted upon each other: torture, violent orgies, death, cannibalism, and more. And even though Matheson (wisely, in my opinion) refrains from truly graphic descriptions, there's enough savagery to turn the average reader's stomach.
For horror aficionados and haunted house junkies, this is a must-read. Probably a little too graphic to suggest to most readers, but if the person in question is willing to try a little depravity, this would be a great suggestion.
Readalikes:
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson. This book rightly stands as one of the greatest haunted house stories of all time. The psychological terror is immensely effective, and Hill House could probably be considered one of the great evils in horror literature.
The Unseen - Alexandra Sokoloff. Although this novel has more in common with The Haunting of Hill House in terms of pacing and tone, it shares most of the same tropes with Hell House, minus the graphic content.
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill. A classic ghost/haunted house story that uses many of the same tried-and-true haunted house elements. Again, this novel is not quite as dark or graphic as Hell House, but it definitely has a similar tone.
House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski. A much more experimental haunted house novel that plays upon the idea of the mysteriously evil house. There are actually two stories being told here: the story of the original investigation, and the story of the young man who comes across the original documents and includes his own observations via footnotes.
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer - Joyce Reardon. A novel that blends the best of both worlds: a satisfying, chilling haunted house story that is told both through found documents (in this case, a historical journal), and the main character's annotations and footnotes. This book inspired the Stephen King miniseries, Rose Red.
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LibraryThing member NickKnight
I love ghost and haunted house stories. This is one of the creepiest and scariest stories I have ever read.
LibraryThing member fothpaul
A very strange book indeed. I really enjoyed I am legend by this author and find it hard to credit that the same man who wrote that wrote this!
Notionally this is a horror book, although it feels a little dated and not particularly scary. It also feels unpolished in places and downright silly in
It's not a terrible book, it's just not very good in my opinion.
Notionally this is a horror book, although it feels a little dated and not particularly scary. It also feels unpolished in places and downright silly in
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others. The characters are paper thin, as is the world created in which psychic phenomena exist.It's not a terrible book, it's just not very good in my opinion.
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
It is just before Christmas, 1970. Parapsychologist Lionel, his wife Edith, and two mediums, Ben and Florence, are hired to spend a week in “Hell House”, the “Mount Everest” of haunted houses. Lionel brings with him a machine he’s built to prove that ghosts do not exist. Ben was an
It started off a little slow, but it kept building until the end. Overall, I liked it. Just a warning that the women in the house are pretty much terrorized via sexual violence; whereas, for the men, it’s physical violence. It’s unfortunate that sex was used so much in this book against the women, but rarely any other form of scare tactic.
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amazing medium at only 15 years old and was in Hell House the last time a group of people entered in 1940; he was the only one to come out alive. Florence is clergy in a small town and a “spiritualist”, or “mental medium”, and very much believes that ghosts are there. It started off a little slow, but it kept building until the end. Overall, I liked it. Just a warning that the women in the house are pretty much terrorized via sexual violence; whereas, for the men, it’s physical violence. It’s unfortunate that sex was used so much in this book against the women, but rarely any other form of scare tactic.
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LibraryThing member lukeboss89
The only part of this book that I found scary was the author's perverted obsession with sex.
LibraryThing member AffirmationChick
A lot of twisted stuff without even the decency of a good plot twist to make it worth it.
LibraryThing member KLmesoftly
I love a good haunted house novel so I picked this up yesterday, having been told it's a classic of the subgenre - though looking back, I'm not sure I could say why. It's a cheap, pulpy knockoff of Shirley Jackson's far-superior The Haunting of Hill House with the sex (mostly lesbian, and all
I think the most obnoxious part was the writing of the female characters (Shouldn't there be a point where I cease to feel shocked and betrayed by this kind of thing? It's not like I haven't read retro pulp fiction before - hi, Casino Royale) - Florence, the sex kitten I mean medium, loses her mind in the house after falling in love with a ghost, being raped by a decaying corpse and then a giant wooden crucifix (and this is after several other incidents of sexual attack) and commits suicide. Edith is the "frigid," nervous, disturbingly codependent one with more neuroses than any therapist would know what to do with and no understanding of the supernatural whatsoever, despite her being married to an "expert" and the narrative's claim she accompanies him on every job. Some great moments in Edith's story, all of which shine so well on their own I won't even comment:
She'd face anything rather than be alone. She'd never told Lionel how close she'd come to a mental breakdown during those three weeks he'd been gone in 1962. It would only have distressed him, and he'd needed all his concentration for the work he was doing. So she'd lied and sounded cheerful on the telephone the three times he'd called - and, alone, she'd wept and shaken, taken tranquilizers, hadn't slept or eaten, lost thirteen pounds, fought off compulsions to end it all. Met him at the airport finally, pale and smiling, told him that she'd had the flu.
and
Edith tensed as Lionel wet two fingers and crimped out the wick of his candle, Fischer blew his out. Only hers remained, a tiny, pulsing aura of light in the vastness of the hall; the fire had gone out an hour earlier. Edith was unable to make herself extinguish it. Barrett reached out and did it for her.
and
She closed her eyes, a look of self-reproach on her face. Had she ever wanted sex with him? She made a pained sound. Would she have even married him if he hadn't been twenty years her senior and left virtually impotent by the polio? ... Just because my mother told me sex is evil and degrading, do I have to fear it all my life?
and
He looked toward the door. Edith was taking rather a long time. He frowned. He didn't want to stand again. Still, he mustn't leave her alone for more than seconds.
And that's only scratching the surface - I think I muttered "Get a grip, Edith!" a dozen times reading through this. She's of course terrified of sex, so once she's in the house she begins to be disturbed by lesbian fantasies and "sleepwalking" episodes where she attempts to seduce the other man working in the house. She's sexually assaulted by Florence while the other woman is possessed, and ultimately winds up surviving the house but only because she follows direction well.
Did I mention that both men remain fairly cool and collected and relatively undisturbed by visions throughout the experience (with exceptions, and up until the end, of course)? They have to fend off Edith's "sleepwalking" come-ons, but besides that they don't endure much.
I don't get it! How is this such a classic? Besides all the characterization issues, the plot itself is dull and cliched - one-dimensional stock characters terrorized and clueless for 260 pages, eureka! moment at the end (with a ~science-y~ eyeroll-worthy spin) that ties everything up neatly. I like Matheson's TV work, but this was horrible...and probably doesn't explain why I just put three more of his books on my Nook for skimming this afternoon. Maybe I Am Legend or What Dreams May Come will have more to inspire me. And at least I'm going in prepared for the flawed character-building and lack of subtlety this time.
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coerced) and violence gratuitously amped up and a happy ending tacked on last-minute. I think the most obnoxious part was the writing of the female characters (Shouldn't there be a point where I cease to feel shocked and betrayed by this kind of thing? It's not like I haven't read retro pulp fiction before - hi, Casino Royale) - Florence, the sex kitten I mean medium, loses her mind in the house after falling in love with a ghost, being raped by a decaying corpse and then a giant wooden crucifix (and this is after several other incidents of sexual attack) and commits suicide. Edith is the "frigid," nervous, disturbingly codependent one with more neuroses than any therapist would know what to do with and no understanding of the supernatural whatsoever, despite her being married to an "expert" and the narrative's claim she accompanies him on every job. Some great moments in Edith's story, all of which shine so well on their own I won't even comment:
She'd face anything rather than be alone. She'd never told Lionel how close she'd come to a mental breakdown during those three weeks he'd been gone in 1962. It would only have distressed him, and he'd needed all his concentration for the work he was doing. So she'd lied and sounded cheerful on the telephone the three times he'd called - and, alone, she'd wept and shaken, taken tranquilizers, hadn't slept or eaten, lost thirteen pounds, fought off compulsions to end it all. Met him at the airport finally, pale and smiling, told him that she'd had the flu.
and
Edith tensed as Lionel wet two fingers and crimped out the wick of his candle, Fischer blew his out. Only hers remained, a tiny, pulsing aura of light in the vastness of the hall; the fire had gone out an hour earlier. Edith was unable to make herself extinguish it. Barrett reached out and did it for her.
and
She closed her eyes, a look of self-reproach on her face. Had she ever wanted sex with him? She made a pained sound. Would she have even married him if he hadn't been twenty years her senior and left virtually impotent by the polio? ... Just because my mother told me sex is evil and degrading, do I have to fear it all my life?
and
He looked toward the door. Edith was taking rather a long time. He frowned. He didn't want to stand again. Still, he mustn't leave her alone for more than seconds.
And that's only scratching the surface - I think I muttered "Get a grip, Edith!" a dozen times reading through this. She's of course terrified of sex, so once she's in the house she begins to be disturbed by lesbian fantasies and "sleepwalking" episodes where she attempts to seduce the other man working in the house. She's sexually assaulted by Florence while the other woman is possessed, and ultimately winds up surviving the house but only because she follows direction well.
Did I mention that both men remain fairly cool and collected and relatively undisturbed by visions throughout the experience (with exceptions, and up until the end, of course)? They have to fend off Edith's "sleepwalking" come-ons, but besides that they don't endure much.
I don't get it! How is this such a classic? Besides all the characterization issues, the plot itself is dull and cliched - one-dimensional stock characters terrorized and clueless for 260 pages, eureka! moment at the end (with a ~science-y~ eyeroll-worthy spin) that ties everything up neatly. I like Matheson's TV work, but this was horrible...and probably doesn't explain why I just put three more of his books on my Nook for skimming this afternoon. Maybe I Am Legend or What Dreams May Come will have more to inspire me. And at least I'm going in prepared for the flawed character-building and lack of subtlety this time.
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LibraryThing member VoodooPunk
Easily my favorite haunted house tale.
LibraryThing member CasualFriday
I'm a sucker for a haunted-house book, always optimistic that I'll be in for something as good as The Shining or The Haunting of Hill House. I'm a damn fool, because most books don't come close. This one has me ready to give up on the genre; it was that bad.
Matheson seems to have lifted most of his
It's too easy to make fun of, and very, very dated (homosexuality as a demonic perversion, for starters). I was just amused through most of it, but when Matheson borrowed an element from the scariest and creepiest scene in The Haunting of Hill House and tarted it up with sex and gore, I got mad.
I rarely put down a book, so I stayed with this one to the bitter end, and was rewarded with an ending so lame and anticlimactic that I was tempted to throw the book across the room.
Matheson seems to have lifted most of his
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stuff straight from Shirley Jackson's novel: a parapsychologist and two sensitives agree to stay in a notorious haunted house in an effort to prove or disprove survival after death. Alas, he lacks Jackson's fine prose style, brilliantly chilly atmospherics and subtle characterization: the stock characters offer up tinny dialog as they walk through their predictable paces and encounter garish but un-scary boogeymen.It's too easy to make fun of, and very, very dated (homosexuality as a demonic perversion, for starters). I was just amused through most of it, but when Matheson borrowed an element from the scariest and creepiest scene in The Haunting of Hill House and tarted it up with sex and gore, I got mad.
I rarely put down a book, so I stayed with this one to the bitter end, and was rewarded with an ending so lame and anticlimactic that I was tempted to throw the book across the room.
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LibraryThing member Carol420
Hell House had stood since 1919, a depository for evil to live and flourish. One person had survived it in 1940. Now he is back as part of a group of 4 paranormal investigators invited to spend time in the house to prove the existence of life after death. Dr Barrett doesn't believe in the existence
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of ghost, Florence Tanner believes all too much and Benjamin Fischer has tried to block his mind and warn the others that the house is waiting and bidding it's time and they will be lucky to survive it. This is a great ghost story. It reminds me of Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House. Show Less
LibraryThing member steadfastreader
Not bad, not great. It's The Haunting of Hill House mashed up with The Exorcist, though I'd have to check the publication date of The Exorcist to see which influenced the other.
While not exactly a rip-off of Shirley Jackson's classic, it's pretty close. I guess it depends on what you're looking
Ultimately I was satisfied with the end, but if you're looking for deep philosophical thoughts on life after death, I suggest Matheson's kinder, gentler work on the subject What Dreams May Come.
While not exactly a rip-off of Shirley Jackson's classic, it's pretty close. I guess it depends on what you're looking
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for in a haunted house novel as to what your preferences are. If you want sex, violence, blood and action Hell House is for you. If you prefer subtlety and to leave your novels with a sense of questioning, well, you might prefer to check out The Haunting of Hill House. Ultimately I was satisfied with the end, but if you're looking for deep philosophical thoughts on life after death, I suggest Matheson's kinder, gentler work on the subject What Dreams May Come.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
This is a classic. Matheson has managed to create the perfect haunted house story, IMO. He has it all; eccentric rich men, mediums, the loyal wife, the dedicated scientist & the creepiest house in the most horrifying setting imaginable. There's some sex, plenty of violence & wonderfully described
Best of all, there is a pervasive logic behind the entire story & several layers of horror. It's not just horror of outside forces, but also of inner demons. Each character is well fleshed out in various ways. Their mundane secrets & inner most feelings are used to wrench them through the story.
It's really masterfully done & I believe pieces of it have been used by quite a few of the horror flicks & books since then. I've never seen so many pieces put together so well, though.
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seances.Best of all, there is a pervasive logic behind the entire story & several layers of horror. It's not just horror of outside forces, but also of inner demons. Each character is well fleshed out in various ways. Their mundane secrets & inner most feelings are used to wrench them through the story.
It's really masterfully done & I believe pieces of it have been used by quite a few of the horror flicks & books since then. I've never seen so many pieces put together so well, though.
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LibraryThing member harpua
Having seen "I Am Legend" in the theater I wanted to explore another of Matheson's works before I made a decision on whether he was someone I enjoyed or not. I picked this one up based on some reviews and was relatively happy with my choice. Hell House tells the story of a haunted house that
This novel reads more as a mystery with some minor horror elements. Nothing in here made me keep the light on at night, but it did add a bit of the fantastic to they mystery. As a mystery, which I typically do not enjoy, it wasn't too bad. It had enough clues, enough twists and enough kept hidden from the reader to keep me moving forward. The mystery wraps up cleanly in the end without much left unresolved.
Hell House is a very quick read that will appeal to the mystery fan as well as the horror fan (just don't expect too much horror).
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destroys it's victims through murder, suicide, or insanity. Our story begins with another group of four trying to solve the mystery of Hell House.This novel reads more as a mystery with some minor horror elements. Nothing in here made me keep the light on at night, but it did add a bit of the fantastic to they mystery. As a mystery, which I typically do not enjoy, it wasn't too bad. It had enough clues, enough twists and enough kept hidden from the reader to keep me moving forward. The mystery wraps up cleanly in the end without much left unresolved.
Hell House is a very quick read that will appeal to the mystery fan as well as the horror fan (just don't expect too much horror).
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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
This book serves as a nice companion piece to The Haunting of Hill House, although I like it less. There is a similar setup - scary old house that has more or less devoured people who lived in it is investigated by four researchers. In Hell House the investigators are a physicist/parapsychologist,
Where the horror in The Haunting of Hill House is implicit, the horror in Hell House is decidedly explicit. It is for this reason that I like the book less. I've found that my imagination is wonderful at filling in blank spaces in terrifying ways & that's just what Shirley Jackson allows you to do. Hell House is definitely scary, but it demands less of you as a reader. It's more like a roller coaster ride where you are required to hang on & let the ride take you forward. Jackson takes your hand & walks along with you, sometimes guiding you, but most often whispering a suggestion in your ear or uttering a sharp intake of breath without explaining it. In the end, Jackson privileges your imagination where Matheson privileges his own.
Stephen King as written about both of these books as classics in the haunted house genre (& they are). You can see echoes of these books in some of his own books, particularly The Shining & The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red, but also in the descriptions of the house in Salem's Lot (which may be his most terrifying book).
For an illuminating take on what makes things scary, I recommend this book as a pair with The Haunting of Hill House. Reading them both will teach you a lot about fear.
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his wife, a spiritual medium, & a physical medium who was the only survivor from the last investigation of the house.Where the horror in The Haunting of Hill House is implicit, the horror in Hell House is decidedly explicit. It is for this reason that I like the book less. I've found that my imagination is wonderful at filling in blank spaces in terrifying ways & that's just what Shirley Jackson allows you to do. Hell House is definitely scary, but it demands less of you as a reader. It's more like a roller coaster ride where you are required to hang on & let the ride take you forward. Jackson takes your hand & walks along with you, sometimes guiding you, but most often whispering a suggestion in your ear or uttering a sharp intake of breath without explaining it. In the end, Jackson privileges your imagination where Matheson privileges his own.
Stephen King as written about both of these books as classics in the haunted house genre (& they are). You can see echoes of these books in some of his own books, particularly The Shining & The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red, but also in the descriptions of the house in Salem's Lot (which may be his most terrifying book).
For an illuminating take on what makes things scary, I recommend this book as a pair with The Haunting of Hill House. Reading them both will teach you a lot about fear.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
Hell House is one of the classics of haunted house horror, and it is indeed often a scary, chilling book. But it suffers from what a lot of horror does: A tendency to go over the top rather than stay subtle, an extra-thick layer of evil and depravity that I think does more to break the reader’s
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tenuous suspension of disbelief rather than height the tension and fear. Still, as horror tales go, this was a well-written and engrossing one, not quite as good as Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, but certainly better than a lot of the shlock being written today. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
This is a classic. Matheson has managed to create the perfect haunted house story, IMO. He has it all; eccentric rich men, mediums, the loyal wife, the dedicated scientist & the creepiest house in the most horrifying setting imaginable. There's some sex, plenty of violence & wonderfully described
Best of all, there is a pervasive logic behind the entire story & several layers of horror. It's not just horror of outside forces, but also of inner demons. Each character is well fleshed out in various ways. Their mundane secrets & inner most feelings are used to wrench them through the story.
It's really masterfully done & I believe pieces of it have been used by quite a few of the horror flicks & books since then. I've never seen so many pieces put together so well, though.
Show More
seances.Best of all, there is a pervasive logic behind the entire story & several layers of horror. It's not just horror of outside forces, but also of inner demons. Each character is well fleshed out in various ways. Their mundane secrets & inner most feelings are used to wrench them through the story.
It's really masterfully done & I believe pieces of it have been used by quite a few of the horror flicks & books since then. I've never seen so many pieces put together so well, though.
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LibraryThing member katee3369
I would love to see this book made in to a movie worthy of it's subtleties. There is a pervasive sense of decadence and decay communicated by Matheson, and while it may seem somewhat old-fashioned and tame by today's standards, this book still offers a great atmosphere.
LibraryThing member readingthruthenight
I am officially a Richard Matheson fan. I read I Am Legend and some other collected stories and enjoyed them (review will be out somewhere, sometime). But Hell House? Damnation, it gave me the heebie jeebies and sent nightmares knocking on my subconscious for a few nights.
Are you familiar with the
I'm a little odd duckling when it comes to horror. I love the genre, but there are very few horror books that I really love. It's hard for me to give them my two thumbs up. Especially since I cannot really nail what I like or dislike with horror. I mean, sure, I'm more of a zombie fan and less of a vampire follower. I like gore as long as it's not over the top, and if you can throw in some psychological horror, you've totally one me over. But it's still not enough. Even with Stephen King books, the only one that I really rave about is The Stand.
But, yes, back to Hell House. *cringe* Eeeek. It's the story of four individuals who go into this abandoned mansion to prove once and for all if it's haunted. Florence is the trained medium; Fischer, is the only survivor from previous hauntings; Dr. Barrett is there to prove that ghosts don't exist; Edith, Dr. Barrett's wife goes everywhere with her husband.
Hell House got its name because the multimillionaire owner, Belasco, used his home as a landmark for evil and mayhem. He would throw parties where no limits or rules existed. In this frenzied state, people became unimaginably horrific to one and another. Everything from cannibalism to sexual pillaging took place, until all individuals involved wound up dead. Belasco was never found when the doors of the house were pried open.
The mystery lies in the house. The horror is still very much alive, even if only half of the investigative party believe that. You don't have to believe in ghosts for them to be real...
Hell House is not over the top grisly. I mean, sure, there are a couple of scenes that gave me the willies, but as far as horror goes it was not gratuitous or tacky. I believed in the possibility of Hell House - that's what made this ghost story work. There was no forced suspending my disbelief, I fell into rhythm of the tale. Much like Poe, Matheson is a crafted writer.
Are you familiar with the
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book? I wasn't when I picked it up. I kinda figured it was about a ghost and/or a haunted house. I also knew that Matheson inspired Stephen King, so if the "king" of horror dug him, it seemed only natural that I check out the man.I'm a little odd duckling when it comes to horror. I love the genre, but there are very few horror books that I really love. It's hard for me to give them my two thumbs up. Especially since I cannot really nail what I like or dislike with horror. I mean, sure, I'm more of a zombie fan and less of a vampire follower. I like gore as long as it's not over the top, and if you can throw in some psychological horror, you've totally one me over. But it's still not enough. Even with Stephen King books, the only one that I really rave about is The Stand.
But, yes, back to Hell House. *cringe* Eeeek. It's the story of four individuals who go into this abandoned mansion to prove once and for all if it's haunted. Florence is the trained medium; Fischer, is the only survivor from previous hauntings; Dr. Barrett is there to prove that ghosts don't exist; Edith, Dr. Barrett's wife goes everywhere with her husband.
Hell House got its name because the multimillionaire owner, Belasco, used his home as a landmark for evil and mayhem. He would throw parties where no limits or rules existed. In this frenzied state, people became unimaginably horrific to one and another. Everything from cannibalism to sexual pillaging took place, until all individuals involved wound up dead. Belasco was never found when the doors of the house were pried open.
The mystery lies in the house. The horror is still very much alive, even if only half of the investigative party believe that. You don't have to believe in ghosts for them to be real...
Hell House is not over the top grisly. I mean, sure, there are a couple of scenes that gave me the willies, but as far as horror goes it was not gratuitous or tacky. I believed in the possibility of Hell House - that's what made this ghost story work. There was no forced suspending my disbelief, I fell into rhythm of the tale. Much like Poe, Matheson is a crafted writer.
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LibraryThing member JayDugger
Saved from complete worthlessness by its age. I imagine this novel shocked readers in 1970. It left me admiring its few vivid and well-written scenes of possession, self-mutilation, and necrophilia, and nothing else. Especially not its trite ending.
LibraryThing member Kellswitch
It was interesting to read this after having just watched the movie based on it.
There was obviously no suspense as I knew how it ended but I did find it interesting how some of the scenes were more effective in the book vs. the movie and then some of the movie scene's were more effective that what
I also found it interesting in what they chose to leave out, not surprising considering the sexual nature of most of it and I was surprised just how much emphasis was put on sexuality, sin and debasement.
Some of the book is now pretty dated and comes across as such, but there were also quite a few chills and disturbing moments that made it worth reading.
There was obviously no suspense as I knew how it ended but I did find it interesting how some of the scenes were more effective in the book vs. the movie and then some of the movie scene's were more effective that what
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was written.I also found it interesting in what they chose to leave out, not surprising considering the sexual nature of most of it and I was surprised just how much emphasis was put on sexuality, sin and debasement.
Some of the book is now pretty dated and comes across as such, but there were also quite a few chills and disturbing moments that made it worth reading.
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LibraryThing member Joybee
A good read, the story was a bit slow, and I did not really care for the characters, but a good creep factor. I am interested in reading more by this author.
4 people are hired to figure out the secrets of Hell House, a haunted house that was previously owned by an evil and perverse man. Supposedly
4 people are hired to figure out the secrets of Hell House, a haunted house that was previously owned by an evil and perverse man. Supposedly
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the house was hunted by him and others who died in the house during his debauch activities. While I did not sympathize for or with any of the characters the story had some good creepy parts to it, and I liked the way the end explained the haunting. Overall this was a fun Halloween read when I was home alone at night (but not very scary). Show Less
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1971
Physical description
304 p.; 8.26 inches
ISBN
0312868855 / 9780312868857